Introduction

Happy Issue 11 to us! And happy summer to all of you writers, readers, artists, and admirers out there.

We are pleased-as-punch to be bringing you another round of talented poets and inspired artists doing what they do best. Somehow, writers who share the same obsessions always seem to find us at the same time. In Issue 11, you'll find animals (dead and alive), mothers, siblings, birth, electricity, Jesus, farms, flowers, and, of course, death. As always, we are in awe of this work.

A famous comedian once asked: Why are poets so poor? The answer: Because rhyme doesn't pay. But sometimes it does! As many of you already know, we have just begun reading submissions for the 2016 Coniston Prize, and the winner will receive a check for $1000. Learn more on our contest page. This year's judge is Gabrielle Calvocoressi, and we can't wait to see whose poems she chooses. Remember - this contest is for women only.

Without further adieu, we invite you to sit back, relax, and soak up the rays of this extraordinary issue.